One of the little known truths about the New Orleans Saints has
been that historically few Saints actually lived in New Orleans. In fact, the vast majority of them did not.

Most players, coaches and administrators
elected to live closer to the club's Metairie headquarters, in the neighboring suburbs of Kenner, Destrehan or River Ridge. Others flocked to the leafy, gated
communities along the north shore.

New Orleans was mainly a place to play and eat a good meal, a great place to visit but not to live.

But times -- along with zip codes -- are changing. A growing number of Saints players and coaches have moved to the city in
recent years.

Jabari Greer will soon count himself in that number.

"We loved our neighbors and our neighborhood where we were,"
said the 31-year-old cornerback, who is in the process of relocating to Uptown
from Metairie, where he, wife, Katrina, and sons Elias and Shia, have called home for the past 2 ½ years.
"But the pull of the city was just too much. New Orleans is such a unique
culture and we wanted to be a part of it and embrace it."

When the Greers relocate later this year, they'll reside
within a mile or so of Saints owner Tom Benson, quarterback Drew Brees and new
defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Saints director of pro personnel Ryan Pace and
vice president of communications Greg Bensel are also in the 'hood, with punter
Thomas Morstead just a couple of miles down the road on St. Charles Avenue.

Not long ago, it would have been unthinkable for such a
critical mass of Saints players, coaches and administrators to reside in the
city of New Orleans. There was a time during the Jim Haslett era when Steve Gleason and Zach Hilton were the only Saints players that dared to live in Uptown.

Now for the first time in the franchise's 46-year history,
the Saints owner, head coach and starting quarterback are all New Orleans
residents.

Brees became the trendsetter in 2006, when he bought and
renovated a two-story home near Audubon Park, immediately becoming Uptown's most famous Saints resident since Archie Manning
moved into the Garden District in the 1970s.

Benson, who had lived for the majority of his Saints tenure in
Lakeview and Old Metairie, followed a couple of years later when he and wife
Gayle bought a home in Audubon Place.

In 2011, Saints Coach Sean Payton joined the ingress,
buying a condo in the Warehouse District after relocating his family from
Mandeville to Dallas in 2011. In so doing, Payton became the first Saints head
coach to live in the city proper while coaching the team.

"When I think of New Orleans, I think of Uptown, the street
cars, the big beautiful oak trees and Audubon Park," Brees said. "Uptown is a
pretty unique neighborhood, unlike most other areas of the country. When you
live there, you feel like you're right in the middle of it all. It's worked out
so well for us I definitely encourage guys (to live in the city) if they ask."

This gridiron gentrification mirrors recent demographic trends of
the overall population in the greater New Orleans metropolitan area, which was determined to be the fastest growing
major U.S. city according to 2012 U.S. Census data.

"The city's population is continuing to grow and the No. 1
place people are moving from is Jefferson Parish," said Allison Plyer, director
and chief demographer of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. "The
downtown area of New Orleans is just booming."

Demographers like Plyer are trained to decipher data but there might be no better indicator of New Orleans' improving quality of life than the increasing transplantation of some of the area's wealthiest and most high-profile residents. It's good for morale -- and our tax coffers -- to have the Saints in the city.

Nowhere is the Black and Gold immersion stronger than in the Warehouse District. In recent years, several of the Saints' more established single
players have thrown down roots in the Warehouse District, following a trend
started by linebacker Scott Fujita in 2006. Now several players reside in the district's trendy lofts
and pricey condos, including Jon Vilma, Cameron Jordan and Jimmy Graham.

Deep snapper Justin Drescher recently relocated from
Metairie to the Warehouse District, a move he said felt comfortable doing as he
enters his third season with the club.

Indeed, the stability of the Saints' organization has
contributed to the recent trend. As the only NFL club with the same head coach,
general manager and starting quarterback since 2006, the Saints have
significantly less roster turnover than other clubs. With more players signed
to multiyear contracts, more are willing to make New Orleans their
semi-permanent homes.

"Since the team's been winning in recent years, the
fandemonium is so crazy, guys go out and they see the atmosphere and the
people, and guys see that it's an attractive place to live," said Morstead, who
lived in the Warehouse District for three years before moving recently to
Uptown. "People here live a little differently than they do anywhere else. Guys
want to experience that and max out their New Orleans experience down here."

The Saints have always been a big part of New Orleans. Now they can be proud to call it home, too.